Annotations guides #

An annotation is any descriptive mark applied to some data.

For Ecoacoustics, we can constrain the definition to:

An annotation is one or more labels applied to a bounded segment of audio

The terms acoustic events, tags, or labels are often used, however, for consistency implementors SHOULD use the term annotation.

This document proposes the fields required for standard annotations so they could be easily shared among researchers and used in different softwares/purposes/contexts.

All units MUST be SI units. If you’re not sure what does this means, check our page on units

Fields #

• [MUST] Start: of the annotation in the recording in seconds, i.e.: offset from the initial time of the recording

• [MUST] Identification Can be Species Scientific Name/Common name/Sound id (Scientific name is preferred to decrease ambiguity)

• [MUST] Type of tag: Indication if the identification is scientific name, common name or other type of annotation;

  • E.g.: if the tag corresponds to species scientific name, type of tag should be scientific_name;
  • E.g.: if the tag corresponds to a description of the sound (i.e.: car passing by; kids playing; etc), type of tag should be sound_id

• [MUST] Event date: date of the annotation (same date as recording)

• [MUST] Unique ID: Unique id of that annotation (i.e.: a number that is linked to that annotation only)

• [MUST] Verification status: if the annotation was verified by someone else, this should be stated. The suggested vocabulary here is the iNaturalist

• [SHOULD] End: end of annotation in the recording in seconds, i.e.: offset from the initial time of the recording

• [SHOULD] Latitude: latitude of the recording where the annotation was identified

• [SHOULD] Longitude: longitude of the recording where the annotation was identified

• [MAY] High Frequency: Higher point in frequency of the annotation

• [MAY] Low Frequency: Lower point in frequency of the annotation

• [MAY] Identified by: ORCID or name of the person who annotated